Adjustable blind



April 1939- H. E. MORTIMER 2,152,705

ADJUSTABLE BLIND Filed July 19, 195? Snventor Patented Apr. 4, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ADJUSTABLE BLIND Harry E. Mortimer, St. Louis, Mo.

Application July 19, 1937, Serial No. 154,440

1 Claim.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in adjustable blinds for windows, doors or other openings where ventilation and light are to be regulated.

The main objects of my invention are to provide means: First, for producing a soft, restful, diffused light inside a room and reduce the intense brightness of sunlight; second, to regulate ventilation and still keep out weather and insects; third, to vary the degree of such diffused light and ventilation; fourth, to combine such a blind with a wire mesh screen and to adjust the blind from inside the screen; fifth, to simplify construction so as to allow shipping in knockdown condition and assembling at place where it is to be used; and other objects hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing on which like reference numerals indicate corresponding parts:

Fig. 1 represents a one-piece formation of the vane frame, with an operating pinion applied thereto for the master vane, and a covering indicated by dash lines;

Fig. 2, an edge view of said frame with the covering indicated in dash lines showing how it can be applied to the frame;

Fig. 3, a face View of the preferred covering;

Fig. 4, an end view of the same, showing the stiffened side edges;

Fig. 5, an enlarged detail of a portion of my preferred covering;

Fig. 6, a vertical section of the master vane, its connection to other vanes and operating means for adjusting the vane from inside the screen shown in section;

Fig. 7, an outside face View of the screen and my device mounted thereon showing the vanes in closed position with portions broken away, and the frame journals partly removed at the left to show the angle strip in which they are pivoted;

Fig. 8, an end view of Fig. '7 indicating the vanes swung upward;

Fig. 9, an enlarged detail view of my vanes connector; and

Fig. 10, a side view of Fig. 9.

Referring to the drawing, a series of overlapping vanes (Fig. 7) are pivotally mounted at their upper side edges by journal ends of a frame projecting from a covering. Each vane consists of a rectangle of wire of suitable size (such as No. 12 or bent into alined side portions I and 2 at the upper side, and alined portions 3 and 4 at the lower side of the frame. The side portions are connected by transverse ends 5 and slanting intermediate transverse portions 6, leaving a space I at the terminal ends of the portions 2 for assembling as later described. I The frame portions I, 2 2, being alined and continuous except for the comparatively small gaps I in the upper side and the one in the lower side opposite the frame portion I make the sides of the frame substantially continuous. The flexible covering mounted thereon is thus held tensioned by the side portions of the frame along substantially the length of the covering. The master frame (preferably the bottom one) is of larger wire (such as No. 8 or 1%") and a pinion 8 is fixed on said middle portion I as shown in Fig. 1, for operating the vanes as described later.

This frame has a covering 9 that is an import-ant feature of my invention. This covering is imperforated and is characterized by being flexible, translucent and more or' less tinted in green or other color and preferably consists of a wire mesh coated completely with such flexible, translucent material as Celluloid or the like, as indicated in Fig. 5. This covering is wider than the frame so that its side edges 9' are doubled for stiffness and bent into a U-shaped hook to allow mounting on said frame as indicated in Figs. 2 and 4.

The transverse portions 6 of said frame are slanted as shown so that the side portion I can be sprung towards the opposite side when the frame is being inserted in the covering, and by outward reaction will thus tighten or tension the middle portion of the covering mounted thereon.

The said covering is shorter than the length of the rectangular frame so that the projecting ends of said frame can form journals 2'3. The projecting ends of the portions 2 are inserted in an angle strip I0 fastened to each end of a screened frame II, or otherwise, sothat the vane may be swung upward at various inclinations, as indicated in Fig. 8.

The projecting ends of the lower side portions 3 and 4 of said frame provide journals 3' for engagement of a connecting wire or bar I 2 shown in detail in Figs. 9 and 10. This connector is preferably in the shape of a wire that is coiled into loops I3 at spaced intervals corresponding to the pivots of the said vanes. It is shown in Figs. 7 and 8 as mounted on said projecting ends of the lower side edge, so that when the master vane is operated by means to be described presently, the vane will rise and fall in unison. Each end of the vanes is provided with such a connector which is not shown at the left of Fig. 7, for clearness. This connector may be otherwise formed if desired.

The operating means for the master vane preferably consists of a pinion 8 centrally mounted midway of the upper side edge of the master vane as shown in Figs. 1 and '7. In Fig. '7 the covering is separated to allow space for said pinion, which is rotated, preferably by a Worm I4, Figs. 6 and 7, fixed to a shaft l5 that is mounted in a vertical bracket [6 fastened to the lower part of said screen frame, or suitable support. Said shaft projects through the screen mesh l1 and is provided with a handle I8 on the inside of the screen by the rotation of which the worm turns the pinion and raises or lowers the master frame and the other frames to which it is coupled by said connectors l2.

Thus the vanes can be raised and lowered to any angle desired in order to allow more ventilation, or practically close the openings; and likewise to vary the deflection of the outside light passing through said translucent vanes to the inside of the room or other apartment, and thereby diffuse the intense brightness of the sun to a soft, mellow, restful shade on the inside of the room.

By mounting my device upon the outside of a screen having the usual wire mesh as indicated in Fig. '7, the vanes protect the screen mesh from the weather that would otherwise drive inside, and the vanes may be entirely closed as indicated in Fig. 8, or partly opened for ventilation as indicated by the dotted lines, Fig. 8, in order to afford ventilation through the screen without shutting off the ventilation by closing the vanes to overlapping contact. Even when such closed adjustment of the vanes is made, the light, whether bright sunlight or otherwise, will pass through said translucent flexible vane coverings and produce a diffused light inside the room.

When the sunlight is streaming more or less vertically upon the vanes, an adjustment of the vanes by tilting to an appropriate angle with said light rays from outside, will direct them more or less clearly in their soft, diffused condition to the inside of the room.

. On account of the above described simplicity of their covering can be shipped in knock-down,

nested condition and likewise the angle strips in which they are pivoted, and can then be assembled at the place where they are to be used by the purchaser or his assistant.

The connector for each end of the vanes is first mounted on the projecting side portions 3 and 4 by inserting said connectors into the space 1 opposite the terminal ends of the portions 2, and sliding them along until the loops l3 engage the projecting journal ends 3 of the portions 3 and 4, as shown in Figs. '7 and 8. V

The angle strips l0 having suitable spaced holes therein, can be slipped over the terminal journal ends of the. side portions 2 of the frames by using the space 1 adjacent to the middle portion I (Fig. 1). Thus all the frames may be pivoted in two angle strips and the connectors mounted as described before the strips are mounted on a screen or other support, and then the U-shaped side edges 9' of the covering can be made toengage with the side edges of the respective frames. The device may then be fastened to the side portions of the usual screen as indicated in Fig. '7, or to any other suitable support to which the device may be applied.

I do not confine myself to the exact construction herein shown except by the appended claim.

' Having thusv fully described my invention, what I claim is new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

frame at the ends and by intermediate slanting V transverse frame portions allowing compression of said sides and outward reaction, and a flexible covering looped over said side portions and tensioned along both side edges by said reaction, means to support pivotally alternate journals of the frame, and means to connect the other journals to operate the vanes in unison, substantially as described. I I

HARRY E. MORTIMER. 

